Finding joy in the everyday

Magazine Illustration of Husband Kissing Wife in Kitchen ( source ) As you know I am very interested in food. Not only do I like to eat food (don't we all), but I love home cooking! But being a statistician, I also love numbers (not quite as much as food) - but when I can combine the two, its fascinating. Here are some statistics that are all about food that I think you might find very interesting.  Australian's spend... In 2009–10, Australian households spent an average of $237 a week on food and beverages ($474 a fortnight).*   About $63 a week was spent on food prepared outside the home (restaurants and takeaways), and $32 a week on alcoholic drinks. Meat, fish and seafood collectively accounted for $30 a week on average. Of that $237 per week, most of it appears to go on restaurants and alcohol, not much on anything healthy!   If people went back to basics (more fruit and veg and less take-ways), they could probably save quite a bit each...

Photography by Joluise W hen I discovered that almost all the garlic we consume (in Australia) is imported from China I was horrified.  In fact more than 80% of the worlds garlic is from China. It is almost impossible to buy Australian grown garlic unless you visit a farmers market.  It grows very well in Australia, its just cheaper to import it. My biggest concerns about buying garlic from China is their use of pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and fertilizers . . . often ones that have been banned elsewhere in the world and known to be harmful to humans. I also object to having my garlic bleached (with chlorine) which covers up any imperfections and completely unnecessary.  And worse still - all fresh foods that enters Australia is fumigated by Australian Quarantine to kill anything bad (what does it do to us) . . .  all of this was enough for me to decide to grow my own this year. The other major issue of buying garlic from China (a small amount comes ...